Ch.86EP.23 – The Knight Conducts an Interview (5)

“S-Sir, we’re under attack!!”

The alarm blared throughout the entire building.

Normally, such an alarm would cause panic and chaos, as expected in these situations.

“Again?”

“There have been unusually frequent attacks this month.”

“Who’s attacking this time?”

“I heard it’s a knight?”

“Hmm, would a knight’s body fetch a good price from an alchemist?”

Most of the personnel continued playing poker leisurely, showing not the slightest hint of concern.

As if this was something they’d experienced to the point of boredom.

And to some extent, this was true.

They were the most hated organization in the kingdom, after all.

The Guild Association.

An organization representing all guilds gathered in the royal capital.

“Hmm, don’t pay it much attention. Let’s just continue our work.”

Simon.

The man who served as the head of the Pendragon Guild Association branch showed little concern about the attack.

He treated it as an insignificant part of daily routine, not even worthy of attention.

“It’s probably sent by some noble with a grudge against us. Could be a knight from that viscount who lost his land to us yesterday.”

“We certainly have many people who might send attackers, hmm… who should we send out?”

“Just send some of the guys. Still, being a knight, they should be fairly strong.”

“Understood, Simon.”

His attitude was bordering on arrogance.

Even though a knight was directly attacking, he remained completely unconcerned.

However, this wasn’t mere arrogance, but confidence.

It was a little-known fact that guilds possessed many powerful individuals.

The guild’s principle was to recruit indiscriminately, accepting pretty much anyone as long as they weren’t criminals of the worst kind.

Of course, occasionally uncomfortable agreements with nobles were necessary to secretly recruit such troubled individuals, but if money could secure strong fighters, it was worth it.

Thanks to this principle, the guild had amassed quite a number of powerful individuals.

Some were comparable to knight commanders, so it would be laughable for them to be tense about an attacker.

Therefore, even if a group of assassins attacked, they wouldn’t be flustered and would simply continue with their daily work.

“I heard the production guild is asking us to find someone who went missing?”

“Hans, a fairly high-ranked blacksmith. There’s concern he might have been kidnapped by an illegal mage, and the kidnapping period might be over 10 years.”

“Then he’s already dead. We can’t find him.”

“But…”

“Ah, I know. We need to at least pretend to look for him.”

Simon was the head responsible for the Pendragon Kingdom’s guild.

He was in charge of an association ranked third in size among the 101 guilds spread across the continent.

As someone managing such a large guild, he didn’t let emotions interfere with his work, preferring to handle matters efficiently and quickly.

Quick, prompt, and efficient.

This was Simon’s work process, almost like a creed.

“Sigh, understood. I’ll report that ‘we tried our best, but the results were unfortunate.'”

“You understand well. Now for the next matter, regarding Viscount Jeminia…”

BOOM!

BOOOOM!

“…Regarding Viscount Jeminia, I believe it’s already being processed. So you don’t need to worry about…”

CRASH!

“That’s true, but looking at these documents, something concerns me…”

CRASH!

“…Why is it so noisy?”

“Ugh, could the attacker be quite skilled?”

“There’s no sign of it quieting down, tsk.”

“I’ll go check it out.”

“Hmm, then Rem, please take care of it.”

“I’ll be back before this tea gets cold.”

Skinny but known as Simon’s left-hand man in the guild, Rem headed outside.

A former member of a prestigious knight order, his skills were at the level of a vice-commander.

Simon believed that with Rem’s intervention, things would quickly quiet down.

And sure enough.

“…It seems to have calmed down now.”

The outside suddenly became quiet.

Simon was about to continue the meeting with his secretary with a satisfied smile when-

CRASH!!

“!?!!”

Simon and his secretary’s eyes widened in shock.

If something had appeared by breaking down the door, they wouldn’t have been so surprised…

“R-Rem?”

Rem appeared, smashing through the wall.

Or more precisely…

“Urghh…!”

Rem seemed to have been used to destroy the wall, as there wasn’t a single part of his body that remained uninjured.

In less than 30 seconds after leaving, he had returned in a miserable state.

The once neat swordsman was now a bloody mess, bleeding profusely.

Simon…

“What the hell-!”

He was quick to judge and highly perceptive.

As soon as he confirmed Rem’s defeat, he tried to throw himself toward the window to escape.

If he could just get through the window, he could immediately escape through the emergency exit.

Simon had already laid out plans for all contingencies, so he believed escape wouldn’t be a problem.

“Are you the association head?”

CRASH!!

-Until he got hit.

“-!!”

Drip.

Simon saw a sharp dagger that had grazed his earlobe.

The dagger was firmly embedded in the wall, demonstrating its formidable power.

…He had the distinct feeling it had deliberately missed him.

And just as Simon was about to turn around.

“UOOOOH!!”

A barbarian mercenary appeared through the broken wall!

‘Bent!!’

A fierce warrior of the mysterious barbarian race.

His skills were already famous in the royal capital, known as a slaughterer who had single-handedly harvested the heads of 200 vicious bandits.

Though not affiliated with the guild, he was a top-tier mercenary hired through substantial money and lengthy negotiations.

‘Great!’

Seeing that Bent was unharmed, Simon realized he had probably been drinking as usual and arrived late, but that wasn’t important now.

The priority was for Bent to eliminate the attacker.

Simon watched Bent with expectant eyes, and Bent, as if responding to those expectations, swung his fist with all his might.

It was a blow that could crumple even an iron shield.

And the attacker…

CLANG!

“…?”

“Are you done?”

…Why did hitting his face sound like striking plate armor?

The attacker didn’t even dodge Bent’s punch but took it head-on, yet he didn’t budge at all and remained completely calm.

“…Steel rock?”

Bent was reminded of the massive rocks found only in Snake’s Path, the homeland of the barbarians.

Rocks with the highest hardness that only great warriors could break.

The moment he struck this man’s body, it reminded him of those rocks.

It felt like hitting not a person, but a rock with high iron ore content.

And the attacker, who seemed to be made of steel, or rather, using a unique technique called [Adamantine], then…

WHOOSH!

He extended his fist and struck Bent hard.

BOOM!

The punch hit Bent’s stomach precisely, and a massive rupturing sound echoed from Bent’s body.

“…!!”

Fortunately, he didn’t die, but Bent fell to his knees and lost consciousness with pain that might have made death preferable.

A top-tier mercenary had fallen with just one blow, which seemed pathetically easy, but the fact that his stomach didn’t burst open proved Bent’s skill.

Because the attacker, no, the knight was…

“Hey, is there anyone else coming out?”

“……”

…a monster.

“If there’s anyone else, bring them out quickly. Don’t be troublesome later.”

“Uh, there’s no one.”

“Really? Then sit down. Let’s have a talk.”

“……”

“What, don’t want to?”

“H-How could I possibly refuse?!”

“Hmm.”

“……”

Gulp…

Once again, Simon was perceptive.

So he realized.

If his answer had been even slightly delayed.

‘This person would have killed me.’

Without any hesitation.

Simon was certain of this, staking his position as association head.

* * *

-CRACK!

He sat in the ruined chair and casually took out a hand axe and threw it.

Simon flinched, fearing it might fly toward him, but fortunately, the hand axe was thrown at…

“Th-That’s an expensive desk…”

“Read the room, you idiot.”

“Y-Yes.”

Simon glared at his tactless secretary and looked at the hand axe that had pierced straight through the center of the desk.

It seemed like a warning that the desk could be destroyed at any moment.

And as predicted.

“I’m going to ask you one question now. And if your answer is delayed, this axe will be thrown at your forehead, chest, or if you’re unlucky, your lower body.”

“……”

“Answer.”

“Ah, understood.”

Since being appointed as the guild association head, had there ever been someone who treated him so disrespectfully?

…No.

Even great nobles and merchants who might look down on him still showed respect, and some were even cautious around him.

But the man before him now showed no respect.

Only murderous intent that felt like he could tear him apart at any moment.

‘W-Who is this? W-When did I ever offend such a monster?’

Simon didn’t stop thinking even at a moment when his life could flash before his eyes.

Proving that he hadn’t won his position through mere luck, Simon continued observing and pondering.

To him…

“Your eyeballs are rolling around frantically. Curious about who I am?”

“…Y-Yes, I am curious.”

Simon asked honestly.

Not asking when the opponent gives you a chance would be foolish.

Thoroughly submitting while maintaining some dignity was the only way to avoid being killed.

So Simon asked despite sweating profusely, and the man…

“I’m Ihan. A demoted knight.”

“……”

He revealed his name so easily, and Simon was momentarily blank before recalling the name from a corner of his mind.

Ihan

The same name as the knight who had distinguished himself during yesterday’s monster attack.

He didn’t entertain the idiotic doubt that it might be someone with the same name.

‘—–!’

Instead, Simon’s brain quickly recalled and organized information, eventually outputting the reason why he had come here.

“S-Sir! I-I want to clear up a misunderstanding. W-We reached an agreement with Lady Levi Jeanne d’Arc through a legitimate contract. B-But if you barge in like this, it will only cause trouble for Lady Levi Jeanne d’Arc…”

“…You’re quick-witted? You figured out why I came here in just 3 seconds?”

“Haha…”

Once again, he hadn’t won the association head position through luck.

‘Damn it! I knew this would happen!’

As soon as Simon heard Ihan’s name, he immediately connected it to Levi Jeanne d’Arc and instantly understood why he had come here.

‘So she’s his disciple…’

Currently, the individual named Ihan was classified as a ‘special grade’ surveillance target by the guild association.

Guild members had already observed his ridiculous power during the monster attack.

So they knew that the woman named Levi Jeanne d’Arc was one of his disciples, and honestly, Simon had felt a sense of danger when taking on this job.

Worried about offending him…

However, the guild’s leadership had been confident.

Even if the noble lady Levi was the knight’s disciple, he wouldn’t intervene in matters between families.

That would be overstepping boundaries.

Even a knight with great power would know what propriety demanded.

This was the leadership’s thinking, and Simon had nodded in agreement.

So Simon spoke confidently as the guild association head.

“I-I must clarify that the guild’s role is merely that of an intermediary. Of course, I know it’s not entirely honorable, but I don’t see why we should be persecuted like this. This can only be seen as oppression against the guild-“

“─I saw the thug you sent trying to harass my disciple.”

“……”

…He should have just kept his mouth shut. To hell with dignity!

Simon’s face drained of blood, becoming pale as he listened to the increasingly threatening words.

“Hey, let’s say hypothetically. I have a little sister. If I see her being mocked and harassed by some thug, would a person get angry, or not?”

“……..”

“In case you might think I’m lying, I’ll tell you this: that thug is currently lying in front of your house’s main gate. Well, he’s not in a state to talk, but if you want, I can use whatever means necessary to make him whole again. Then we can determine whether my words are a misunderstanding or the truth. How about it, interested in trying?”

“…Th-That is…”

Simon couldn’t speak properly.

No, he couldn’t even form a complete sentence.

However, the man wasn’t cruel enough to rebuke Simon for suddenly pretending to be mute.

…But.

“Just know this one thing. If it’s not a misunderstanding, if my words are true. I will definitely kill you painfully. I will find your family, your brothers, your friends, and exterminate all nine relations. I swear on everything I have…!”

He was clearly a ‘dangerous person’ who should ‘never’ be provoked.

“……..”

…Simon remained silent, not daring to refute his words.

Swish.

He quickly bowed his head to the ground.